Disability activist (Ted Kennedy) criticizes Trump

Approximately 20 Yalies attended a conversation about political issues including medical insurance and disability rights with state Sen. Ted Kennedy FES ’91, D-Branford, hosted by the Yale College Democrats on Wednesday evening.

After he was diagnosed with bone cancer at age 12, Kennedy had his right leg amputated. Since then, Kennedy — the nephew of former U.S. President John F. Kennedy — has made the rights of people with disabilities a large part of his advocacy work, campaigning against the use of the word “retarded” in schools and serving on the boards of Special Olympics International, Connecticut’s Office of Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities and the American Association of People with Disabilities. At the event in WLH 120, Kennedy expressed opposition to what he described as President Donald Trump’s anti-disability policies and encouraged students to challenge candidates’ policies on the rights of those with disabilities.